See also Ford Crestline Skyliner for the 1954 Ford and Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria Skyliner for the 1955–1956 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria, both with an acrylic glass roof panel. The Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner is a two-door full-size retractable hardtop convertible, manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company for model years 1957–1959. For the model year 1959, the name changed to Ford Fairlane 500 Galaxie Skyliner shortly after production began (also illustrated as such in the brochure but described only as "Galaxy" in the related text.). The retractable roof mechanism, marketed as the "Hide-Away Hardtop", was unique to Ford-branded products, and was not offered on Continental, Lincoln, Mercury, or Edsel branded vehicles. A total of 48,394 were manufactured. Design Falling in Ford's Fairlane 500 range, the Skyliner Retractable was only the second car in history to be mass-produced with a retractable hardtop (following the 1938 |Peugeot 402 Eclipse Decapotable); the first to reach four and five-digit mass-production numbers, and the first series produced coupé convertible to feature a roof using two segments. At its introduction, the Skyliner was the only true hardtop convertible. The Skyliner's retractable top operated via a complex mechanism that folded the front of the roof and retracted it under the rear decklid. Instead of the typical hydraulic mechanisms, the Skyliner top used seven reversible electric motors (six for 1959 models ), four lift jacks, a series of relays, ten limit switches, ten solenoids, four locking mechanisms for the roof and two locking mechanisms for the trunk lid, and of wiring. The top largely consumed available trunk space, limiting the car's sales, though the mechanism operated reliably. Production totaled 20,766 units in 1957, declining to 14,713 in 1958 and to 12,915 in 1959. An electric clock was standard. Fuel consumption was around overall. The fuel tank was placed vertically in back of the rear seat, offering increased safety in a rear collision. The wheelbase of the Skyliner was and the overall length was . During the 1959 model year, Ford added the new top-of-the-line Galaxie series to its full-size lineup, and the Skyliner model became part of that series. Although the 1959 Galaxie was designated as a separate series, Galaxies carried both “Fairlane 500” and “Galaxie” badging, on the rear and sides respectively. It came with the standard 2-barrel V8 engine. Requiring a shorter roof and longer trunk, the retractable roof concept was originally intended for Ford's